heater controls

Press Auto, set the temp, and, if you want A/C to be available to the system to control the temp (and humidity), turn it on as well, and it will maintain the set temp.

Why do you say it is not working?

 

Sounds like a cold start scenario. It also makes a difference if your in eco or power mode.
Set the temp and select the pwr or eco and you will see the response is different.
when I want heat or cooling fast, I use the pwr mode and it seems the fan will run faster etc. to get up to temp or down to temp then I use the eco mode.

 

^^ what he said. I'd recommend taking the car out for a 5 mile drive, then turn on the heater using AUTO. It should kick right in at a high fan speed with heat. If you are going from a cold start, it will wait until the coolant reaches a certain temperature then turn on the fan.

 

In Eco (which is what I usually drive in) the fan will not come on at all for heat until the water temp reaches 103, which is also where the engine will begin to shut down at stops, BUT, if heat is being demanded by Auto or manual, it will continue to run the engine to create the heat called for.

 

I almost never use auto but the fan (w/ heat demanded while in auto mode) not coming on w/a cold engine isn't Prius specific. I'd ridden in other people's cars (a Lexus RX, IIRC, MANY years ago) that had this behavior, by design. The logic is that you don't wanted to be blasted w/cold air.

This sounds like yet another reason to not use auto besides what I cited at http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/91431-one-3.html#post1287385. In auto, I don't have direct control over what the car is doing (in terms of whether the AC compressor is running or whether the ICE is running to provide cabin heat).

 

I have noticed that when we press 'power' and then 'auto' the fan does not come on. So we must manually run the fan speed up.

Also I feel like I am fighting the 'mode' button at times, trying to get it to send air to defrost, cabin, and feet at the same time.

Outside temps are a little cool, but not really cold yet, mid-20s.

 

Maybe you should use a block heater so the engine will be warm before you leave the house?

That way pressing Auto would provide heat much sooner (I don't know if it would be immediate or just quicker).

 

I watched ICE temperature and the heater fan this morning as the car warmed up, outside temp was 35 degrees F and the car had been out all night. With the climate control in automatic, defroster off, the fan did not run until the ICE temperature reached 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

I switched between ECO, Normal, and Power and it makes no difference. I think the only time the ECO Mode effects the climate control is when the AC is in use.

I would be surprised if other cars warmed up as fast as the Prius under the same conditions. The Gen3 Prius routes the ICE coolant through a heat exchanger behind the catalytic converter and retards the timing to warm the ICE up faster, probably faster than any non-HSD car. However most other cars may allow the heater fan to operate in auto as the engine warms up so you may get some lukewarm air out of the heater a little sooner.

 

I think this is probably what the OP is noticing with their Corolla. It's blowing warmer than outside air, but not exactly warm air into the cabin.

Ironically, my 1995 Maxima had the Auto temp control as well, and functioned much the same was as the Prius. It would put the fan on a lower setting when the coolant reached a certain temp, then would blast it on high speed once it hit the next threshold.

I rarely use AUTO in the Prius, unless I'm on the highway or in the car for awhile. Then I only press it once I've been driving for awhile. Otherwise, it's just usually me in the car, so I'll run it in spurts as I drive to slowly warm up the area around me.

 

Ha Ha for many those temps are freezing

 

How are you monitoring this?

 

Maybe a typo on my part.

I said "Mid-20s" which has a '-' before the 20, I meant temps like +23F to +28F.

Which for us in this area is 'cool'.

I did not mean it to be read as -23F to -28F, which would be 'cold'.

Having a Prius is a new experience for me, so I am trying to figure out how to best operate while our temps are only 'cool'. So when it does get 'cold' come January, we will know how to best operate the vehicle.

 

I use a ScanGauge available at a discount from the Prius Chat Shop.
PriusChat Shop : ScanGauge II Scan Tool + Digital Gauges + Trip Computers [ScanGaugeII] - $159.95

This is our ScanGauge thread which will tell you everything you want to know and more.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...discussion/64406-scangaugeii-work-2010-a.html

 

Check this thread out. Sounds like ECO mode shuts the engine more that the other modes. My impression was also that switching between ECO and Normal under some early heating conditions can change heater fan speed.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...2955-eco-mode-cold-weather-performance-2.html

 

That's a good old thread. There are some things there we can try to test again. I really don't notice the difference between driving modes because I'm in ECO all the time.

 

IMHO- this is a feature : the Prius is all about efficacy and low emission.
So the ECUs try to achieve this as fast as possible using all sorts of tricks like exhaust gas recirculation and not using the cabin heater (you can help it facilitating grill blocking).
PHEV users know that running the the cabin heater will effectively cool down you're ICE- eventually kicking you out of s4.
If you want immediate heat engage the PTC- heater (I think only G3). Otherwise it will slow down ICE- heat up and S4 respectively.
Regards T